Full name: Sydney Wharram

Hometown: Flint, Michigan

Major and Class Standing: Studio Art and Psychology, Senior

Internship Company/Organization Name: Broad Art Museum

Location of Internship: East Lansing, Michigan

Program Type: Independent

I had been working at the Broad as a gallery guide for over a year already. As we began opening back up during the pandemic, I began taking on more tasks as needed, which eventually turned into an internship, and then resulted in getting promoted! During the internship, I worked as an Operations Intern. My responsibilities included overseeing retail displays, documenting interactive exhibition components and feedback, learning other relevant supervisor tasks. My daily routine consisted of coming into the museum before it opened and checking retail displays, filling them with merchandise as needed, organizing new retail, designing new displays as needed, and documenting interactives each week.

My favorite part was using my creativity to design new retail displays and having the freedom to work independently. My supervisors trusted my judgement which gave me a lot of freedom to experiment and bring my personality into my position. Due to the pandemic, I was unable to work more hours. Since we were only open on weekends during the summer, there was not a lot of extra time to get tasks done before the museum opened. Not having enough time to work and complete my tasks was my least favorite part of the internship, though I definitely built on my organizational skills! And since the museum had limited hours, I learned how to work with time constraints, which helped me further develop my time management and future planning.

Through this internship, I learned the importance of creating connections at work through genuine interactions! If you are meant to work in a certain field you will find serendipitous relationships along the way. My advice is to look for genuine connections and pursue what actually interests you! Never allow yourself to feel like the field you want to go into is inaccessible, if you have a genuine interest and passion you will find the opportunities that fulfill you!